A composite coating having a high refractive index, high Abbe number, low haze and high transmittance, suitable for fabricating nanoscale optical surface features includes a resin with a crosslinked polymer matrix having polymers with repeat units derived from acrylic or methacrylic monomers or oligomers and inorganic nanoparticles disposed within the resin, wherein the composite coating has a refractive index equal to or greater than 1.7 and a glass transition temperature equal to or greater than 60° C.